-Ioseph of Locksley, OL, Pel, &c.

"A wound of the heart never heals."

As peers, we must serve as examples of courtesy and chivalry to the
rest of the populace. We also must serve as examples to ourselves. Thus, this
rather rambling collection of thoughts on ethics and the peerage.

Gossip and Rumor are -evil-. To carry gossip, and to spread rumor,
is a blot on a person's honor; on the honor of the person repeating, or starting, the gossip.

It is a stain that says "I am a person that
likes to hurt people." If you hear a rumor, squash it. If you hear a rumor
about someone else, GO TO THAT PERSON AND ASK THEM ABOUT IT. Find out the
truth FOR YOURSELF. If they deny it, give them the benefit of the doubt and
believe them; a liar will expose themselves eventually.

And if you hear malicious gossip about someone, tell the gossiper
to shut the hell up and walk away from them. They have shown themselves to
have no honor and no clue.

To be blunt, talking of subjects discussed within a peer Circle is
spreading gossip and rumor. Those who hear it have no idea of the context of
the remarks made, and (being human) will assume the worst. This is why we
have always had the 'rule' about NOT TALKING outside our Circles about people
and subjects discussed within them.

However .... we all have squires, apprentices and protegés, and many
times those are the very people being discussed, with comments made that will
serve to improve our students, -if they can be made aware of them.-

The question becomes, therefore, "how do we communicate these
suggestions?"

First of all, we do NOT:

1) run to them and say "Master So-and-so said this about you ..."
and go on to elaborate every single perceived fault.

2) run to their friends and say the same thing.

3) run to them and say "The people in the peer Circle said this about
you ..." and elaborate on their faults.

4) bitch and moan to everyone within reach of a telephone about how the peers (or the
Crown, or whoeever) are so unfair to your squire, apprentice or protegé.

5) lie about what was said. If a person asks "Was I talked about in
Circle?" our ONLY answer can be "I can't talk about what we
discussed." No 'pretty stories,' no 'strokes,' and especially
no falsehoods. Just say "Sorry. Peer Circle matters are strictly
confidential." If they cop an attitude about it, then frankly
maybe they need to grow up a bit more ....

What we -can- do is this: we can provide our students with a chance
to learn the things they need to learn, and say things like "It's important
that you learn this, and then demonstrate that you've learned it."

We can, to use one example, ask a lady to request our student to
dance .... or ask a lord to ask our female student to dance .... and thus
show the rest of the peerage that they either already know the skill, or are
learning it .... we are being more of a 'guiding hand' and we have thus
violated no confidences by so doing.

If a person is not any peer's student, then we -all- can help by
engaging them in conversation and casually mentioning the needed improvement,
for example, "Lord So-and-so, you might find that a visit to dance classes
would improve your footwork on the field ...." or "Lady Such-and-such, you'd
probably enjoy what Mistress So-and-so has to say about costuming."

We can even provide a mini-class in the subject at a fighter
practice, and simply dragoon the person (along with several others) into
attending .... although that last might be a bit extreme!

After that, it's up to them to carry the ball. We can't shepherd them
along each step; THEY have to show the interest.

Each peer will have their own solution to the problem. The important
things to remember are to NOT TELL WHAT WAS DISCUSSED IN THE CIRCLE, and to
NOT TELL THE PERSON THEY WERE DISCUSSED.

How do we know if a person is a Peer? For the Laurel, I use a simple
rule-of-thumb: 'If the person was given a knowledge of the language of their
persona, and dropped thru Time into the -real- Middle Ages or Renaissance,
could they earn their living at their Art?"

I also tend to add "do they know enough about their chosen culture to
get along in it? Do they dress reasonably real? Do they 'play the Game'
well?"

I also agree with King Morgan of Drachenwald's codification:

: 1) The person shall be good at his/her speciality.

: 2) He/she shall have a good knowledge of/about the Society.

: 3) He/she shall be an active member, making an effort to help the Kingdom develop.

: 4) Shall teach and be helpful at all times.

: 5) Shall show a courteous and chivalrous behaviour.

: 6) Shall have some knowledge and/or skill in other areas than their primary.

Henry Best, of Atlantia, offers one of the best rules-of-thumb
that I have yet seen:

"My favorite test of whether a person is a peer is the "George
Bailey Test", named after the hero of "It's a Wonderful Life"."

"The test is simple: pretend, for a moment, that the person in
question never ever participated in the Society. Look at the result and see
how much you like or dislike it. How big a hole in how many hearts do you
see? "

"This is usually enough to identify a peer. The next question is
whether your peer is more suitably a knight, laurel, or pelican."

We have a lot of lesser awards at Baronial, Principality and Kingdom
level. In my opinion, a person does NOT need to have these awards before they
recieve a peerage; they are neither merit badges, nor ascending ranks. They
are -local- awards. If a person is qualified for the peerage, then they
should be recognized as peers, no matter what other awards they might have.

Now, let's talk about rhino-hides.

We all know about rhino-hides. They're the fighters that just can't
seem to take a blow....they use the concepts of personal honor to -cheat-
at this game we play.

But.....the non-fighting folks have their own rhino-hides too.
They're the people that just can't seem to let anyone else outshine them...
that can't seem to find anything good to say about someone else's efforts in
the Arts, or in Service.

And they tend to do their best to withhold recognition from people
striving to better themselves in Arts and Service.

They are just as much -cheaters- as the fighter that can't take a
blow.

Arts competitions are our 'fighting events,' and they are just as
important to us as tourney combat is to the fighters.

But we have no real 'Rules of the Lists.' We have no real, codified
'Conventions of Combat.' There is a lot more room for pettyness, cruelty, and
outright cheating in our part of the game.

The artist that uses a position of power to denigrate and beat down
another artist's efforts, whether in judging a competition or in casual
conversation, is -worse- than the fighting rhino-hide, for the hurt that this
conduct engenders hurts a person's personal Dream .... and enough such hurts
will inevitably and inexorably -kill- the Dream in that person, their family,
and their friends.

I have seen far too many talented people -leave the SCA-, their Dream
shattered, because of the thoughtless, cruel actions of a loud, heartless, thug-like
minority.

We are not here to play games with people's emotions. We are not here
to employ brutal "gamesmanship" and "rules manipulation" to enhance our own
perceptions of our own personal worth. We are here to -learn- and -teach- our
arts.

People are encouraged by rewards. These rewards can be something as
simple as a single word of encouragement, or an award from the Crown or
Coronet.

But of the two, the word of encouragement is probably the most
important because it lets the person know that you, personally, care enough
to say something.

But slapping someone down with no consideration of their feelings is
perhaps one of the most reprehensible acts I can think of. IT HURTS. If you
must critique, do so -constructively- and -gently-. Offer to -help- by making
your knowledge available to them.

Beorthwine of Grafham Wood puts it quite well:

"A&S Competitions are not good or bad: they are good _and_ bad. In
many ways, they are a microcosm of our Society, displaying the best and the
worst we have to offer."

"Arts and Sciences Competitions are not free of any of the ills that
afflict our Society. In today's context, one is inclined to think that poor
administation is our worst ill (and A&S competitions have been known to
suffer from this) but this is not our worst problem. Most of us realize that
if the SCA administation blew away tomorow, the people would not. When the
efforts of gentles submitted to an A&S competition are ridiculed or
belittled, the people will go away. And well they should, for we have shown
ourselves, with all our self-righteous claims of gentleness, to be a lie. The
attitude shown at times in the SCA befits a kindergarden playground, where
words are used to shame and to wound. People, proud of their place, shun
those "below" and flatter those "above". Petty, smug, and clique-ish behavior
is the worst problem I see in the SCA. Far from being free of it, A&S
competitions are often the platform for such conduct."

"This is especially grievious, as A&S represents much of the very
highest we can attain. Certainly it is true that it can encourage
authenticity and often remedies the problem of getting the cart before the
horse: doing the work before the research. But all this can be done without
competitions. In competitions and displays, we show just pride in our
accomplishments while remaining open to improvements. The inspiration
recieved from the work of others furthers the beauty in our own labors and
the well-considered advice of judges increases our skill. In considering and
commenting on others work, we gain insight into our own and recieve new
inspirations, points of view, and cultural influences, if we are humble
enough to accept them. By commenting on the accomplishments of others, we put
courtesy as well as scholarship into action: Seeking not our own
agrandisement, we only try to find the best way to help some gentle along the
shared path to excellence. This is the best we can accomplish, whatever the
chosen avenue of our labor. For we are all advocates: not of ourselves but of
each other, and of the dream we share."

Don't offer to judge an Arts competition in any area that you are not
at least more than generally knowledgeable in. If you -have- specialized
knowledge, -offer to judge-. And, if you are the Autocrat of the Arts
competition, -find *qualified* judges.-

If you are a Laurel, you are considered to have a great deal of
knowledge in your art. You are, in my opinion, -obligated- to attend Arts
competitions and -serve as a judge in your art.- Contact the Autocrat and
offer to help ... don't sit around waiting for the phone call.

And you are obligated to judge -fairly-, without jealousy or
favoritism. If you allow your personal hatreds, or your personal fears, to
enter into your acts as a judge, then you have -failed- to live up to your
Laurel.

Take people at their word, in their documentation. That's part of the
concept of 'honor' that we live by. If they are lying, it will show up sooner
or later. If you are not sure of your facts, give the entrant the benefit of
the doubt. Let them call the shot, just as the fighters do. We have no
Marshall to appeal to. We have a -harder- task in our fields because of that,
and thus -must- walk a fine line between a 'strict interpetation of the
rules' and fairness.

Take the time to -read- the documentation. It may sound amazing to
some, but it -has happened- that a judge has refused outright to even read a
person's documentation!

If you are a professional in your art in the mundane world, remember
that you are judging amateurs ... and the words 'novice' and 'expert' on the
judging sheet do -not- mean the same as they do in the 'real' world. Our
'expert' in an Arts Competition may be simply slightly better than a beginner
in reality. Cut them some slack!

If you are an academic in the 'real' world, remember that these
people have not had access to the resources and information you have had. And
they have no concept of the common practices and attitudes of academic
debate; they don't center their lives around 'being right.' Cut them some
slack!

And, if you are an artist that has been slam-dunked by one of these
Rhinos, whether in Arts, Service or Combat, don't quit. If you quit, then the
Rhinos have won, and you, and those of us that truly believe in honor and
courtesie, have lost more than just a competition.

And feel sorry for those Rhinos and Gossips, for while you may have lost a
competition, they have lost their souls.

Permission is REFUSED to reprint in any corporate SCA publications. Unofficial publications may reprint at will.
Send a copy to the author if you do at: PO Box 35190, Phoenix AZ 85069